Franciscan Sisters of Chicago

The Woman Who Fears the Lord is to be Praised

2011-11-14T11:39:00.000-06:00

Yesterday's reading from Proverbs brought our Foundress, Mother Mary Theresa Dudzik, to mind -- particularly the following:

She obtains wool and flax
and works with loving hands.
She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her fingers ply the spindle.
She reaches out her hands to the poor,
and extends her arms to the needy.
Give her a reward for her labors,
and let her works praise her at the city gates.

Josephine (as she was called prior to the formation of the community) was moved by the condition of the aged, poor, abandoned, and orphaned whom she encountered in her on the northwest side of Chicago neighborhood. She came to their aid spiritually, physically, and emotionally, even sheltering many in her own family home. Chicago's severe financial crisis of 1893 resulted in greater economic stress and unemployment. Josephine, upon the advice of her pastor, formed a religious community to come to the aid of the elderly and those in need.

That religious community continues today, still aiding the elderly and those in need in the Chicago area as well as into Indiana and Ohio. Visit our website at http://www.chicagofranciscans.com/join-us/index.shtml if you feel you may be called to be of service as Mother Mary Theresa was.

Pax et bonum!

2011-10-04T10:17:00.000-05:00

Peace and all good on this, the feast day of our holy father Francis. Our blessing for you today is the blessing that Francis gave to Brother Leo:

The Lord bless you and keep you.
May He show His face to you and have mercy.
May He turn His countenance to you and give you peace.
The Lord bless you!

Dedication of Mother Mary Theresa Dudzik Way

2011-09-20T17:04:00.002-05:00

The weather in Chicago this morning was in the upper 60’s, clear and sunny. In short, it was a perfect late September day. And, it was probably just my imagination, but the sun did seem to shine a little bit brighter on the corner of Karlov and Belmont Avenues. Today, on the 93rd anniversary of her death, this little portion of Karlov Avenue was dedicated as Mother Mary Theresa Dudzik Way.

It was exciting to turn the corner off of Barry Avenue on to Karlov and see the bustle of activity on the corner. There was a seating area for the guests. There were programs, photographers and flowers. There was a sound system so the various speakers could be heard above the din of the traffic on Belmont. These speakers included Sister Diane Marie Collins, General Minister of the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago; Sister M. Francis Clare Radke, General Councilor of the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago; The Honorable Ray Suarez, Alderman of the 31st Ward, and The Very Reverend John H. Nowak, C.R.; Chaplain at St. Joseph Village of Chicago. In attendance were members of the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago, relatives of Mother Mary Theresa and residents of St. Joseph Village as well as neighbors, associates, and friends.

It is difficult to sum up what this brief ceremony meant. As Sister Diane Marie commented, Mother Mary Theresa would never have imagined herself being honored in this way. That street sign, and indeed the ministry of St. Joseph Village just beyond it, seems to be one more light in the darkness. It is certainly one more way to make Mother Mary Theresa, her ministry to this city and her heroic virtue, known.

Fittingly, the ceremony was filled with little moments of grace if you looked for them. There was the child viewing the ceremony from the window of an apartment building across the street. There was the gentleman who made the Sign of the Cross as he passed by. There was young Officer Rivera who stood by safeguarding the corner. When he received the bookmark commemorating the event, he tucked it into the breast pocket of his protective vest and there was Mother Mary Theresa’s image – for all to see – in front of the CPD emblem on his vest.

Sister Diane Marie reminded us that Mother Mary Theresa loved this city and quoted the prayer that Mother Mary Theresa wrote for our daily needs, “O God, . . . Keep our country, Chicago our city, and all the faithful who live here from flood, famine, fire, war, and especially from loss of faith in You.”

~~ Kathy Murtha, Religious Associate, Franciscan Sisters of Chicago

Maybe God's plan for you is with the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago

2010-11-12T19:54:00.000-06:00

Since we last reached out to all of you with news of our very active ministry, Sr. Lois Marie and I have been busy spreading to the good news of the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago and their lives of faith-filed community, spirituality and ministry to students, young adults, women and our many associates that work in our retirement/elder care facilities throughout the Midwest.

In March, we held our “Come and See” at Our Lady of Victory Convent in Lemont. We had four women in attendance and it was a weekend of fellowship, prayer, fun and discernment. Many of our Sisters joined in to help make it the wonderful weekend that it was – from sharing their knowledge of St. Francis to being prayer partners to just extending the warm, loving hospitality that the community is so renowned for to our visitors – the success of the event was truly a group effort! We are already busy planning the next “Come and See” which will be held at St. Anthony Convent in Crown Point, Indiana in October.

With new women from varied backgrounds considering their vocation to join the community, it seemed appropriate to explore just what it means to be “diverse” in today’s world. To that end, we invited Sr. Charlene and Fr. Luis Vera to share some thoughts with the community in a Multicultural Event entitled New Membership – Crossing Boundaries: A Prophetic Call, on April 10th. We had a great turn out and everyone left with “food for thought” about the invitation for the community to imagine a future for itself that is perhaps more culturally integrated and enriched by diversity than in the past.

This winter, Sr. Lois and I began working at the St. Stanislaus soup kitchen every Thursday –it has been a wonderful experience. It has taken us back to the community’s roots, presented us with an opportunity to do direct outreach to the poor and homeless and also provides us with a venue for engaging in ministry with inquirers.

We have several women that are in the process of discerning whether they are being called to religious life with the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago. We ask you to keep them and us in your prayers because we all need to be involved in the ministry of promoting religious vocations!

October 4 -- The Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

2010-10-04T09:59:00.001-05:00

Peace and all good! Today, we offer the following quote from the Chronicle (journal) of our Community's Foundress, Mother Mary Theresa Dudzik: "I wondered how we could live as Community since we had no permanent home. No doubt, in this instance, we would be following the example of our Holy Father Francis, who also had no permanent home. This thought consoled me and brought me peace of mind."

Inquirers’ Get Together

2010-08-18T11:16:00.000-05:00

The Vocation Team was excited to host an “Inquirers’ Get Together” at the Mother House in Lemont the weekend of August 7th and 8th. In attendance were four women that have been on the path of discernment with our Sisters for the last several months. One has in fact moved from “inquirer” to “affiliate” – the next step in the process of joining the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago.

We began the weekend with lunch with the Sisters and then paid a visit to Franciscan Village where we were treated to a tour of the various retirement living options. It is a beautiful facility and everywhere we looked, we saw tangible evidence of how the Sisters’ Franciscan values and charism of caring for the elderly are brought to life everyday by the dedicated associates lovingly going about their ministry.

After the tour, we had some time off before joining Sr. Diane Marie for a barbecue – for which she was gracious enough assume the role as “Head Chef”! The hamburgers and hotdogs were delicious – to say nothing of her own special potato salad prepared from one of her time tested recipes. The evening presented us with an opportunity to reflect on our discernment journeys – what it means to choose religious life and how we are called to be people of passion fit for the Kingdom of God. We ended our day with prayer – asking that we be mindful of God’s call.

Sunday, we shared Morning Prayers and Mass with the Sisters and breakfast. There was more time for visiting, laughing, and hearing stories from the Sisters about their own journeys – which are always blessed with joys and challenges. Some of our visitors stayed for lunch while others had to head home – but only after making plans to join us for our next “Come and See” that we are planning for October 15-16, at St. Anthony Convent, 201 Franciscan Drive, Crown Point, IN 46307. We will begin Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. and conclude at about 6 p.m. on Saturday. If you would like to join us to experience first hand and spirituality, ministry and community of our Sisters, we can be contacted at: lrossi@franciscancommunities.com (Sr. Lois Marie Rossi, Vocation Minister) or clackie@chicagofranciscans.com (Ms. Carol Lackie, Vocation Coordinator).

Carol M. Lackie

Vocation Coordinator

August 18, 2010

He is risen!

2010-04-06T11:31:00.002-05:00

A happy and blessed Easter.

Welcome!

2010-03-16T12:05:00.000-05:00

Hello and welcome to the new blog for the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago. Although our blog is aimed primarily toward women who are in discernment, we welcome all comments. Please visit us often.